After eliminating Celtics, 76ers open second‑round at Knicks Monday

The second round starts with a rivalry people actually care about. Philadelphia just knocked out Boston, New York has been waiting at Madison Square Garden, and now the East semifinals open Monday, May 4, with almost no runway between rounds. That matters because this series already had juice. The new part is the shape of it — the Knicks have home court, the Sixers have momentum, and both teams look more dangerous than they did the last time they met in the playoffs. (nba.com) ### Why is this matchup suddenly such a big deal? Philadelphia didn’t just survive the first round. The Sixers came back from 3-1 down and beat Boston 109-100 in Game 7 on Saturday night, which turned them from a shaky lower seed into the team nobody wants to see. New York, meanwhile, handled Atlanta earlier, closing that series with a 140-89 blowout on Thursday and buying itself extra rest before Game 1. (cbssports.com) ### When and where does Game 1 happen? Game 1 is Monday, May 4, at Madison Square Garden. NBA and ESPN listings show an 8 p.m. Eastern tip, with New York hosting the opener and Game 2 as well before the series shifts to Philadelphia for Game 3 on Friday, May 8. Basically, the Knicks got the better bracket break — home court and a fresher roster. (nba.com)ing up 2024? Because the last Knicks-Sixers playoff series was chaos. New York won that first-round matchup in six games in 2024, and the total point margin across the whole series was one point — 650 to 649. That’s the kind of stat that tells you this wasn’t some clean, comfortable win. It was a fistfight with shot-making. (espn.com)he Knicks aren’t bringing the same team back out. Karl-Anthony Towns and Mikal Bridges are now part of the core around Jalen Brunson, with OG Anunoby and Josh Hart still driving the defense and the dirty-work possessions. So the old version of New York that beat Philly is useful context, but not a perfect template. This roster is bigger, deeper, and more flexible offensively. (nba.com) ### What’s different for Philadelphia? The whole question is health and ceiling. Joel Embiid is back after an appendectomy, Tyrese Maxey is still the pressure point for any defense, and Paul George gives Philadelphia a higher-end wing option than it had in that 2024 series. The catch is recovery time — Embiid was limping late in Game 7 against Boston after contact to his knee, and the Sixers had only one full day off before heading to New York. (nba.com) ### So what decides Game 1? Probably pace, bodies, and which star gets dragged into the harder night. New York should want to make Philadelphia defend over and over in the half court, test the Sixers’ legs, and turn the Garden into a pressure machine early. Philadelphia will want Embiid to control the middle, Maxey to bend the defense, and the game to stay close enough for la(nba.com)you whether rest beats rhythm. (nba.com) ### Why does home court matter more here? Because this matchup is close enough that small edges get loud. The Knicks finished as the No. 3 seed, but they ended up with home court against a No. 7 seed that is much better than a normal No. 7. In a series this physical and this familiar, two games at the Garden to start can change the whole emotional temperature. (espn.com) the next playoff series on the board. It’s a rematch with better rosters, sharper stakes, and almost no time to reset. New York gets the building and the rest. Philadelphia gets the belief that comes from surviving Boston. Monday night should tell us which advantage is more real. (nba.com)